U.S. officer tried to aid ISIS, says FBI

WASHINGTON — A U.S. army sergeant stationed in Hawaii was charged with trying to provide equipment, training and classified military information to the Islamic State, after undercover FBI agents documented his offers of support to the militant group in a series of meetings in June and July, according to an indictment.

Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Erik Kang, 34, was arrested July 8 and charged in an indictment filed in U.S. District Court of Hawaii on Friday. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each of four counts against him.

According to the indictment, which was announced Saturday by the Justice Department and the FBI, Kang tried to offer “material support or resources” in meetings with the agents, whom he believed were associates of the Islamic State.

In one encounter on June 23, Kang offered classified military documents, according to the indictment. In another meeting, on July 8, he volunteered equipment to the undercover sources, including a drone camera, a chest “rig” that holds ammunition and other kinds of “military-style clothing.”

A news release from the Justice Department said the case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court July 10 and obtained by The Associated Press, the sergeant, an air traffic controller at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii, described fantasies about killing fellow military members and pledging loyalty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State.

His commanding officers called in the FBI when they feared he had become radicalized.

Kang made copies of secret military documents. When he met undercover FBI agents, they made training videos that he thought would be taken to the terrorist group.